Miller v. Oregon

Background

Petitioner had a pistol on his person when arrested in Portland, Oregon, on January 28, 1970. He was first charged under a city ordinance for carrying a concealed weapon and was convicted on April 29, 1970. Separately, the State later indicted him under a statute that makes it a felony for a person with a prior felony conviction to carry a concealed weapon. After the city conviction, he pleaded that the state felony indictment violated the protection against being tried twice for the same act, and the trial court dismissed the indictment. The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed that dismissal, and the Oregon Supreme Court denied review.

Reasoning

The Supreme Court denied the petition for review, so it did not take up the case on its merits. Three Justices dissented from that denial and explained why they believed the dismissal should have been upheld. They argued that the constitutional protection against being punished twice for the same conduct requires prosecutors to try together all charges that arise from a single criminal act or episode. Under that view, the later state felony charge could not stand after the city conviction.

Real world impact

Because the high court refused to review the case, the appellate decision allowing prosecution remains in effect and the state felony charge may proceed under Oregon law. The ruling is not a final Supreme Court judgment on double jeopardy protections, so the legal question could be raised again in another case. For this defendant, the denial means he lacks relief from the higher court and faces continued state prosecution.

Dissents or concurrances

Justices Brennan, Douglas, and Marshall dissented from the denial and argued the Double Jeopardy Clause should bar the second prosecution.